Redskins Recover

Controversial Play Caps 20-17 Victory

December 14, 1992|By WARNER HESSLER Daily Press

WASHINGTON — Another chapter in ``The Rivalry,'' the National Football League's showcase series between the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys, was written Sunday afternoon before 56,437 emotionally drained fans at RFK Stadium.

Less than four minutes away from losing to Dallas at home for the fourth time in the last five years, the Redskins' defense came through with a play that will be debated for years to come and ended with a game that might be remembered as the most exciting of them all.

FOR THE RECORD - Published correction ran Tuesday, December 15, 1992. An article in Monday's Sports section incorrectly reported that Washington Redskin Earnest Byner threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Sanders in Sunday's football game against Dallas. Tight end Terry Orr caught the pass.

A sack and two Dallas fumbles, all on one play in the Cowboys' end zone, ended with strong safety Danny Copeland covering the ball for a touchdown and giving the Redskins an improbable 20-17 victory.

``This is one of the most memorable moments in sports for me,'' said Coach Joe Gibbs, whose Redskins trailed throughout until Copeland pulled the ball out from under a Dallas offensive lineman's legs with 3:14 to play.

It was also one of the wildest endings to a game in this, or any other, season.

Nursing a 17-13 lead and faced with a second-and-seven from the Dallas 5-yard line with 3:25 to play, quarterback Troy Aikman dropped back to pass in the end zone.

Just as Aikman prepared to throw, defensive tackle Jason Buck crashed into him and knocked his arm back.

``I felt contact with Aikman and I tried to reach for his shoulder,'' Buck said. ``He raised his arm and I felt the ball against my arm.''

The ball popped loose, but Dallas running back Emmitt Smith grabbed it and tried to run it out of the end zone.

``I heard somebody yell `ball,' and when I started looking for it I saw it right there in front of me,'' Copeland said.

The ball was under the legs of Dallas offensive tackle Erik Williams.

``The offensive lineman almost curled it underneath him with his legs, but I was able to pull it out before he did,'' Copeland said.

After huddling with fellow officials for several minutes, referee Bob McElwee signaled touchdown and set off one of the wildest celebrations the 31-year-old stadium has ever seen.

The victory avenged a 23-10 defeat suffered by Washington in Dallas in the season's opener.

``I didn't realize at first what it meant to this community to lose to Dallas,'' said Copeland, who came to Washington from Kansas City in 1991 as a Plan B free agent. ``Now I know.''

Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson, who gestured wildly on the sidelines that Aikman's arm was in motion before the fumble and that the play should have been ruled an incomplete pass, refused to go into detail after the game.

``Our coaches upstairs thought it was an incomplete pass,'' he said tersely, ``but I couldn't see it well enough.''

League rules state that a play will be ruled a forward pass if the quarterback's arm goes forward in the normal passing motion.

It appeared Aikman's right arm did go forward, but he didn't protest the call.

``I don't think so, no,'' he said when asked if he thought his arm had gone forward. ``Actually, it could have gone either way.''

The fans' emotional roller coaster didn't end with the touchdown as Aikman completed three passes to move Dallas to the Redskins' 38 in the final minutes.

But two quarterback sacks sandwiched around a short pass to Smith and an incomplete pass on fourth down ended the threat.

``We thought we played well,'' said tight end Jay Novacek of Dallas, ``but it doesn't matter how many quarters you win. You have to win the game.''

Despite the happy ending, though, Redskins' fans had little to cheer about. In fact, they booed for most of the first 30 minutes as quarterback Mark Rypien completed just five of 17 passes.

They were booed off the field as Dallas opened a 17-7 lead on a pair of 5-yard touchdown passes from Aikman to Novacek and a 23-yard field goal by Lin Elliott.

The Redskins' only touchdown came on a 41-yard option pass from running back Earnest Byner to wide-open Ricky Sanders.

``I think we were too emotional on defense,'' Copeland said. ``We were running around and everybody wanted to make every play and deliver every hit.

``The coaches told us to settle down in the second half, maintain our discipline, and for everybody to do his job.''

Then the big plays started coming as the Redskins intercepted a pass, covered two fumbles and recorded three of their four sacks in the final 30 minutes.

Dallas' turnovers, including a fumbled punt by Kelvin Martin that preceded Byner's touchdown pass, led to 17 of Washington's points.

Rypien settled down in the second half and took the Redskins 68 yards midway through the third quarter for a 32-yard field goal by Chip Lohmiller that cut the deficit to 17-10.

And Collins, in perhaps the second-biggest play of the game, thwarted what might have been a clinching touchdown by Dallas by intercepting an Aikman pass in the Washington end zone and returning it 59 yards.

``I felt pressure and when I threw I never did see the linebacker,'' Aikman said.

The Redskins' offense had two chances to score touchdowns in the first 11 minutes of the fourth quarter, but they had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Lohmiller with 7:02 to play.

A fourth-down pass by Rypien from the 2 was just out of receiver Gary Clark's grasp in the end zone and netted nothing.

Two plays after Rypien missed Clark, Aikman dropped back to pass and Buck crashed in to begin a play that, until further notice, will probably lead off the Redskins' 1992 highlight film.